Cinnamon Roll Cookies

Ingredients
1 cup butter, softened
1 3/4 cup sugar
3 egg yolks
1 Tbsp honey
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 1/2 cups all purpose flour
1 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 Tbsp ground cinnamon

Directions
In a large bowl, cream butter and 1 1/4 cups sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in egg yolk, honey, and vanilla.  Add flour, baking powder, and salt gradually and mix well.

In a separate bowl combine 1/2 cup sugar and cinnamon (or I simply used my Pampered Chef Sweet Cinnamon Sprinkle).  Shape a heaping tablespoonful of dough into a 6" log and roll in cinnamon sugar mixture.  Loosely coil the log and place on baking sheet.

Bake for 250 for 8 - 10 minutes.  Remove to wire racks to cool.

Enjoy!

Going From Two Incomes to One (Part 1)

I have dropped some subtle hints in my blog, so if you have not caught them, we are now officially a one income family! If you think I am a stay-at-home Mom, nope think again. My husband is now a stay-at-home Dad (or parent as he refers to it as)! I am now the responsible party for bring home the bacon to my husband and boys. I am going to be doing a series on how we made this all possible.

Years have gone by with us wondering if we could make this work. Months of intense preparation took place before the “2 week notice was turned in at work”. In the end, this was by far the hardest, yet easiest decision my husband (of 8 years) and I have ever had to make as a married couple. When we married 8 years ago, I was working full-time and my husband was working part-time and attending school full-time. As time evolved (after a brief hiatus on unemployment) we have been a two income family for six years. We definitely enjoyed the perks of two incomes and at times somewhat abused them. We moved three times and bought three different houses in a span of 5 years (WOW!).

We were now at a stage in our lives where we have two children and we were both going about 100 miles per hour in different directions every day. We enjoyed the perks of free childcare since we both have willing and able parents wanting to care for their grandchildren. However kindergarten is on the horizon for our oldest. Granted we were blessed with free childcare, I still had to wake the kids up get them dressed and over to Grandma and Papa’s. My husband’s job was to pick the kids up in the evenings, sometimes at two different houses. Our lifestyle “worked” for us, however we were becoming tiresome, worn down, and in need of a change.

There were times when the kids were sick (or the grandparents) and we had to make a quick morning decision on who would call off of work. I printed a monthly calendar of where the kids would be everyday and what time they were to be dropped off and picked up at the designated house. We always had in the back of our minds that if our parents could no longer watch the kids, that my husband would quit his job. However it never happened that way. I was left torn for months, waiting for a “sign” that he should stay home with the kids. I never got that big “sign” I was looking for, but I did get some small inclinations that it was time to make a change in our lives.

To be continued in Part 2…

All You - January, 2011 Issue

If you got your January issue of All You, check out Page 9, "What You Love This Month".  I got my quote published!

"We can finally go back to the slow-

cooked, homemade recipes that make

my house feel so inviting when the

snow is falling outside.  I can already

smell the beef stew, the chili, and the

pot roast in the oven!"

All You is one of my favorite magazines!  It is jammed packed with recipes, money saving tips and a load of coupons!

Check out the list of high-value coupons you'll find in the current issue of All You (including many exclusive to All You!). This month's total: $43.38!

AcneFree™ Clear Skin System or Severe to Clear Skin System $3.00 off any 1 2/28/10

AcneFree™ Clear 8 oz. Purifying Cleanser or Terminator 10 $1.00 off any 1 2/28/10

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All You February 2010 Issue $0.50 2/01/10

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Ham Bone Soup

So after a 3 hour commute home due to blizzard conditions, I was so glad that I had this cooking in my crock pot. Unfortunately, everyone else already ate and I grabbed a bowl and forgot to take a picture. But this soup was easy and delicious. I used a ham bone from the Honey Baked Ham I had for my son’s birthday!


Ingredients:
1 ham bone with meat on it
6 cups of water
2 chicken bouillon cubes
1 can of diced tomatoes (14.5 oz)
3 potatoes, peeled and diced
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup diced carrots

Directions:
Put everything in the crock pot and let simmer on low for 8 – 10 hours. Make sure to stir occasionally and move the ham bone around. Do not add any salt because the ham makes it salty enough!

Enjoy!

Free Purina One Samples

If you have a dog or cat, Target has free samples of Purina One Smart Blend pet food for dogs or cats. Go here to request your samples!


I would bookmark and check back at this site often because new freebies are often posted!

Research Study for Males/Females 18-64 diagnosed with Diabetes, Hepatitis C, Herpes or Lupus

If you would like to participate in a study at our office in South Park Center Mall, please read below and give us a call to join. Please note that we cannot accept more than one person per household in each study.


o Dates: 12/13/2010 – 1/15/2011
o Time Needed: 30 minutes
o Location: Opinions Ltd. in South Park Center Mall (Strongsville, OH)
o Target Audience: Males/Females 18-64 diagnosed with Diabetes, Hepatitis C, Herpes or Lupus
o Reward: $80
o Topic: Medical

If you are interested, please call 440-878-1889 and mention the Medical study. We will only take a few minutes of your time to see if you qualify. When you do, we will set up an appointment at our office.

Skillet Lasagna

So I took two photos because the one in the pan was not able to show the complete dish. This is almost as good as homemade lasagna but takes a lot less time. I served this with my favorite Five Cheese Garlic French Bread from Schawn’s.


Ingredients:
24-26 oz of spaghetti sauce
3 cups of water
8 regular lasagna noodles (do not use the no boil noodles)
1# of lean ground beef
1 clove garlic
¼ cup diced onion
¼ cup parmesan cheese
1 tsp parsley
1 cup ricotta cheese
½ cup shredded mozzarella

Directions:

1. Combine sauce and water in a large skillet. Cover and bring to a boil.

2. Break each lasagna noodle in quarters. It is easiest to do one noodle at a time. Stir noodles into sauce. Cover, reduce heat and simmer for 18 minutes.

3. In another skillet, brown the ground beef. Once it is almost browned add garlic and onion and sauté an additional 5 minutes. Stir meat into sauce and let simmer 5 minutes.

4. Combine cheeses and parsley in another bowl. Scoop the cheese mixture over the noodles. Cover and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes to melt cheese.